TikTok Shopping Ads: Everything You Need to Know in 2022

TikTok has shopping ads now?

It’s about time.

Since its inception in 2014,TikTok has grown into a social media giant, which really says a lot considering how many other platforms had already reached gargantuan heights by then.

At the time of this writing, TikTok isthe sixth largest social media platform in the world – ahead of 7th place by nearly half-a-billion users.

And yet, until very recently, TikTok didn’t support any kind of in-app advertisements.

So, while many companies have built empires on the app (we’ll cover some prime examples at the end), they’ve done this without the help of a legitimate advertising platform.

Well, thanks to the newly introduced TikTok Shopping Ads, that’s all about to change.

What Are TikTok Shopping Ads?

TikTok Shopping Ads allow advertisers to highlight their products on the popular social media platform to increase product discovery and purchase intent. These ads can also provide dynamic experiences based on the shopper's behavior. They use optimized ad delivery and smart targeting. 

That’s not all.

The platform’s new shopping ads will put brands' videos in front of TikTok’s 1,000,000,000+ users who are more likely to make a purchase. Advertisers can even create a landing page to better determine a user's buying intent and maximize conversions.

Currently,Video Shopping Ads are available for some advertisers through beta testing. 

TikTok’s new video shopping ads combineCollection Ads solutions andDynamic Showcase Ads. The plan is to phase out Collections and Showcase Ads later this year. 

Through Catalog Listing Ads, advertisers can scale their product catalogs, and advertising can go beyond the For Your Page. You'll be able to promote items across Related and Recommended Products. Catalog Listing Ads are currently being tested in the U.S. 

Then there areLIVE Shopping Ads, which will allow advertisers to move users from the For You page to the LIVE Shopping event. Shoppers will learn about your products and be able to join the event. 

LIVE Shopping Ads can boost traffic toward shoppers more likely to buy them. They are available in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the U.K. They're a more advanced, smarter, and simpler solution to help brands connect with shoppers. 

TikTok is working on App Event Optimization. It's only available for select accounts and is in beta mode at the moment.

How TikTok Shopping Ads Are Different

TikTok Ads differ from your current marketing options on the popular social media app in three very important ways.

1. Unlocked Catalog Potential

Use theproduct catalog's new formats to reach higher placements on TikTok. Capture emerging trends, as well, and go far beyond the For You Page. 

Catalogs will allow you to manage products through automated rules and product sets. Customize information about each product. 

Create custom videos for products in your catalog through theDynamic Video Generator tool and the Video Template. Upload information about each product through TikTok Ads Manager, including images, prices, descriptions, and videos. 

Ad placements can show up on TikTok's partner apps, as well.Pangle, news and discovery, and entertainment apps are partners. Some include TopBuzz, Babe, and NewsRepublic. 

2. Simplified Media Buying Experience

Use three new advertising formats through one buying objective. Access product sales in TikTok Ads Manager. 

TikTok, at its core, is a video-sharing social media platform. Users can create videos right from their phones. They are able to easily use various effects, background music, stickers, and filters. 

TikTok audience targeting will allow you to show your ads to the right market.

Targeting will include options like:

• Behavior
• Age
• Location
• Gender
• Devices

Lookalike audiences are another possibility. 

You'll need the TikTok Pixel to track ads before launching ad campaigns. TikTok Pixels will collect traffic data to match it to the right audience. 

Currently, there are three in-feed ad positions:

• The video details page
• The recommended news feed
• The post-video ads

But expect TikTok to expand on this in the years to come.

3. New Automation Features to Meet Buyers Throughout the Shopping Journey

TikTok shopping ads will make it extremely easy to reach audiences that are more likely to convert. Fully automated creative features and advanced targeting are in development to support this exciting capability. 

When launched, advertisers will be able to select automatic placement for their TikTok Ads. This option automates the process, so that TikTok decides where your ads will perform best. Among other things, this decision will take location into consideration to ensure your ads are only showing to users who have the potential to become customers.

You can also block which media platform or app ads might appear by defining your block list in the placements section. The list can currently block up to 2,000 apps at a time.

4. Team Up with Influential TikTokers to Market Your Brand

Finally, another really exciting option with TikTok Ads is thesupport for partnerships with top creators that will allow advertisers to easily monetize their existing platforms. TikTok has been testing in-video commerce links, so keep an eye out for how this feature could evolve in 2023. 

Plenty of other new features and tools are in live development and testing, too. We’ll update this post as those are launched.

TikTok's Continued Interest in Advertising

TikTok has already begun to expand its ad products over the last several months.

In May, TikTok launched an ad product called "Branded Mission." The Branded Mission lets creators connect with brands and potentially receive rewards for videos. 

Advertisers can crowdsource content from creators and turn videos into ads. TikTok introducedTikTok Pulse to entice advertisers to its platform this past May, as well.

TikTok Pulse allows brands to showcase their content next to some of the best videos on TikTok. This includes a guarantee of being next to the top 4% of videos on this world-famous platform. 

Recently, TikTok dropped plans to expand their live eCommerce TikTok Shop to the U.S. and parts of Europe. While this offering did not perform as well as expected in the U.K., TikTok clearly believes this option still has potential. 

The 3 Types of TikTok Shopping Ads

While TikTok itself is a fairly simple social media platform compared to some of its peers in the space, the team behind its new advertising platform clearly recognized that they need a diverse offering to attract as many companies as possible.

To that end, they’ve introduced three specific Shopping Ad types, though we expect that this list will grow and evolve as more businesses sign up to use them.

1. Video Shopping Ads

TikTok shopping ads in 2022 allow you to create shoppable videos on theFor You Page (a page where TikTok recommends videos to users based on what they’re proven to like). This option combines Dynamic and Collections Ads. 

TikTok ads will also mix product and video creative cards into different variations. They could be broader brand messages or product-specific advertisements.  

What’s really cool is that TikTok Shopping Ads will then choose the top converting combinations. When users tap on an ad, they'll have an in-app landing page to choose what their intent is for making that click. Shoppers can redirect to a retailer's site or learn more about products. 

2. Live Shopping Ads

As the name suggests,Live Shopping Ads are for promoting live shopping streams. By clicking on these ads, potential customers will be taken from the For You Page to a live shopping event where they can make purchases. 

The goal is to have your ideal audience ready to buy in front of the kinds of live events where you can entice them with limited-time offers and more. 

3. Catalog Listing Ads

Catalog Listing Ads allow you to promote product catalogs in placements across TikTok. These are great because, among other things, they don’t require the advertiser to create video content. So, if you’re a bit limited when it comes to your resources, no problem. You can still advertise on a social media platform with more than a billion users.

With Catalog Listing Ads, you can simply use product images from your catalog and have them in shopping placements. Users will find these ads through branded content on the For You Page. 

How Effective Will TikTok Shopping Ads Be? Some Important Statistics to Consider

At the moment, no one can know for sure just how effective TikTok Shopping Ads will be.

Fortunately, while it might make sense to take a “wait-and-see” approach to allocating part of your marketing budget to this new option, there are still some helpful statistics to consider.

• TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2021 for the second year in a row with 656 million new users
• TikTok has more than a billion active users EVERY MONTH
• The average TikTok user session is 10.85 minutes – by far the highest of any social media app
• And on average, TikTok users will spend a total of 89 minutes on the app every single day
• In part, this is because TikTok users open the app an average of 19 times a day
• TikTok is already the top app (again, not just social) for consumer purchasing
• Partnering with TikTok creators increases view-through rates by an astounding 193%
• 67% of TikTok users report that the app encourages them to shop – even when they didn’t plan on it
• 71% of users believe that it has a greater impact on their lives than any other app
• 61% of users have ALREADY engaged in eCommerce behaviors
• 56% of users report that TikTok ads have helped them discover new brands and products
• 48% of users are interested in buying from TikTok in the next 3 months
• 37% of these users say they are interested in buying because TikTok is entertaining
• 21% say it’s because the content and products on TikTok are “for me”
• 20% say it’s because TikTok “makes my day better”

• 50% of users already have bought a product through a TikTok LIVE
• 36% of consumers say they like learning about products through short videos like TikToks
• 55% of users already depend on TikTok for researching new brands and products

For more stats and helpful information on the expected effectiveness of TikTok Shopping Ads, check out these other posts:

• An Infinite Look of Shoppertainment: TikTok’s eCommerce Path to Purchase
• 23 Important TikTok Stats Marketers Need to Know in 2022
• 43 TikTok Stats to Know in 2022

5 Celebrities and Brands Who Have Already Made Millions on TikTok

And, of course, we can’t forget about the multitude of brands, celebrities, and social media influencers who have already seen incredible success from marketing their products through TikTok.

Although most of their success came pre-TikTok ads, the following five examples prove how influential this massive social media platform is. You can also bet that these people and companies are going to leverage the new profitable power of TikTok ads in the very near future.

1. Kim Kardashian

From Skims to KKW Beauty, Kim Kardashian dominates the Internet. She knows what people want and how to land on the For You Page. 

Skims are popular since they're comfortable shapewear that you can wear in multiple scenarios. You can layer them up and pair them with various outfits. This brand is regularly featured on the For You Page of many and is one of the most popular clothing companies in its niche. Much of this is due to how well its performed on TikTok since its launch.

2. Selena Gomez

Everyone knows who Selena Gomez is, and she's using this popularity to her product line’s benefit. Selena Gomez's makeup brand,Rare Beauty, is another one that’s popular on TikTok’s For You Page. This brand is less than two years old but is gaining in popularity like CRAZY.

One of the most popular products is the liquid blush. TikTokers love the sun-kissed look on their skin and haven’t been shy about sharing their endorsements all over the social media platform. Rare Beauty has become popular on TikTok through positive word of mouth instead of through ads. 

Even though it's a celeb company, it has reasonable prices and is almost always sold out (again, thanks in large part to TikTok).

Many beauty influencers are trying this trendy brand now, and it's gaining in popularity. As these influencers share these products on TikTok, people are also interested in trying out the product. 

3. Matilda Djerf

While Matilda began her social media takeover on Instagram (where she has3 million followers), her empire is growing on TikTok, where she’s almost hit a million followers.

This success has ensured she can create and market her own brand directly to consumers. Since she's devoted to her fans, this sets her apart from competitors in the space. She's built a business that's expected to reach $22 million, up from $8 million. Matilda works with the chief executive of Djerf Avenue,Rasmus Johansson, for part of her success, but there’s no doubt that TikTok has played a huge role, too.

It'll be exciting to see what happens once she leverages the power of TikTok Shopping Ads in 2023. 

4. Gucci

Many luxury companies have been trying out TikTok, includingGucci. The brand already has about 3.1 billion views! 

Their Jackie bag dates back to 1961 and a video they created to show it off has over 21 million views. This has led to an increase in demand for the bag of 50%!

Again, this bag has already been around for more than 60 years, but TikTok has ensured it will remain incredibly popular for years to come. It’ll be interesting to see if TikTok Ads can increase those numbers even further.

That’s not all. 

The average price for this bag has even increased by 65%.

Other luxury brands have taken advantage of TikTok, too.Louis Vuitton's Pochette Bag has over one million views on TikTok. Sales have seen a 47% year-on-year increase. 

Gucci also taps into trending videos right away.Gucci did its own Gucci model challenge with humor. 

The audio created by the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star, Lachlan Watson, pokes fun at the mismatched aesthetics of the runway models. The Gucci model challenge gained thousands of user-generated content and millions of views on TikTok by leveraging the trend’s popularity. Obviously, it did wonders for the famous fashion house’s sales, too. 

Gucci has also used theAccidental Influencer Campaign. It focused on vintage-inspired Gucci Tennis 1977 sneakers with dance choreography to help spread the word about its footwear all over TikTok.

5. Crocs

Crocs are doing well on TikTok thanks to using brand-specific hashtags, original music, and entertaining content. The popular shoe company likes to make jokes and poke fun at their brand’s expense and the perceived unattractiveness of their footwear. 

They use how-to styles for their TikTok videos with various outfits and accessories, but Crocs always make it humorous. This self-deprecating approach has proven hugely successful.

While this may not work for every single brand out there, it’ll be interesting to see how Crocs is able to parlay this comedic style into their TikTok Shopping Ads.

Using TikTok Ads to Supercharge Your Marketing Efforts

As a social media platform, TikTok is showing no signs of slowing down. There’s no reason to think it won’t, once again, be the most downloaded app in 2022 – just like in 2021 and 2020.

And now it has the benefit of its advertising platform, which is sure to bring even more users to the platform – not just businesses, either. As the statistics we covered earlier reveal, a large number of users actually like coming to TikTok to see products and make purchases.

So, make room for TikTok Shopping Ads in your marketing budget. If you need help understanding what kind of investment that will take, the kinds of returns you can expect, or getting you started with ads, feel free tocontact us to learn all about oursocial media marketing services.